Of all the politicians campaigning for the 2020 presidential election, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is the most outspoken anti-war candidate. “As commander-in-chief, I will work to end the new cold war, nuclear arms race and slide into nuclear war,” Gabbard reported. “That is why the neocon/neolib warmongers will do anything to stop me.” Smeared and

What brought you to politics? I’ve been a community servant and leader for well over 35 years. My aloha for Maui has been well established. Then came the calling in 2013 and 2014 to be involved in the election involving GMO and pesticides. As a steward of the land I saw it as a duty

The public initiative system is a unique and magnificent tool for grassroots democracy. Four years ago, Maui’s GMO Moratorium made history in a number of significant ways. First, it made local history by becoming the first public initiative effort in Maui history to get on the ballot. It did this through the hard work of

Almost Orwellian in its doublespeak deception, Maui Senator Roz Baker’s latest campaign ad promotes her as a champion of ‘aina protection. “From protecting our reefs from harmful sunscreens to creating pesticide free zones around our schools, Roz fights from the heart to save the ‘aina,” it reads. The truth? While she has taken credit for

The upcoming 2018 Maui election offers an extraordinary, historic opportunity to change the power structure that has limited progressive change on our island. The Maui Ohana wing of the County Council – Elle Cochran, Alika Atay and Kelly King – is poised to be joined by another wave of reformist candidates seeking to take Maui

Hawai’i’s new pesticide bill passed last week made our state the first in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. State legislators managed to pass this historic legislation in the face of intense pressure from the agrochemical industry, which has relied on corrupted science and media misinformation to unduly influence representatives and agencies in

In a victory for people power, Hawai’i is about to become the first state in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The ban is part of a historic new pesticide regulation bill that had already passed the House, and on Friday, April 27, passed the Senate Conference Committee. The bill, after enormous opposition from

For too long certain politicians in Hawaii have stonewalled pesticide regulation typically arguing they have to protect the economic interests of small farmers across the state. It’s a myth, which has been exploded by new research by Autumn Ness, who is on the Hawai’i Center for Food Safety’s Advisory Board. “The small farmer argument is

The most heavily used chemical weed killer in human history has been declared carcinogenic by a team of health experts testifying last week in San Francisco’s U.S. District Court. While government agencies have declared Roundup safe, based on corrupt science and flawed analysis (often drawing from Monsanto-funded studies), a lawsuit on behalf of farm workers

Maui’s Senator Roz Baker was instrumental in deleting important mandatory pesticide disclosure and notification sections from the SB 3095 bill. The original bill was opposed by Monsanto, Alexander & Baldwin Co., and the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association. “It was Roz Baker who gutted the bill,” reports Autumn Ness, who is on the Hawai’i Center for